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October 20, 2006
FOREST SERVICE CHIEF DENIES OUR
APPEAL OF THE NEW MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE LOS PADRES NATIONAL
FOREST
Administration Silences
ForestWatch and a Coalition of Other Groups Concerned About a
New Management Plan for the Four Southern California Forests
In a disturbingly familiar pattern
of degrading the environment, rejecting science and suppressing
public participation, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth
recently attempted to silence opposition to the agency's
inadequate new management plans for the Los Padres National
Forest and three other forests in southern California. In
response, a coalition of science and conservation organizations
yesterday filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service,
charging that the administration illegally dismissed the groups’
concerns over the plans.
Officials approved new forest
plans in April 2006 as part of a multi-year effort to reform the
management of the four Southern California national forests.
The plans serve as blueprints for development activities in the
forests for the next decade, specifying where activities like
oil drilling, logging, road construction and off-road vehicle
use can occur.
As part of the ongoing public
process surrounding the new plans, nine local, state and
national conservation organizations submitted a detailed
Conservation Alternative, outlining a host of protective
measures needed to safeguard these public lands.
Officials rejected the
Conservation Alternative and instead adopted their own internal
version of the plan that focused too much on expanding roads,
off-road vehicle use and commercial, extractive uses like
logging and oil drilling rather than protecting the natural
values and low-impact recreational uses enjoyed by millions of
people every year.
ForestWatch and the other
organizations extended the negotiation process in July, filing a
250-page formal administrative appeal. The appeal cited numerous
legal problems with the management plans.
"The plans would increase
development on our local forests, at the expense of clean water,
wildlife habitat, and forest recreation," said Jeff Kuyper,
executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch based in Santa
Barbara. "By dismissing our appeal, this administration has
shrugged off our community's call for stronger protections for
our local forests."
Rather than address the issues
raised in the appeals, the Forest Service blatantly chose to
ignore its own regulations and denied the groups’ appeal on a
bogus procedural claim, stating that the appeals arrived too
late despite the fact that the groups filed their appeals one
day before the deadline.
The regulations governing appeals
clearly state that appeals of forest plans must be postmarked
within ninety days of the plan’s approval. The groups’ appeal
was postmarked on July 19 (day 89), well within the deadline
established by law.
“This administration seems to
believe that violating agency regulations is standard
procedure,” said Monica Bond, wildlife biologist with the Center
for Biological Diversity. “When it received our appeal on time,
the agency still rejected it without addressing any of our
actual concerns. The public has entrusted this agency to
protect our national forests, not to play games with them.”
“We strictly followed all filing
requirements, mailed our appeal before the deadline, and fully
complied with the agency’s recommended mailing procedures,” said
Justin Augustine, staff attorney with the Center for Biological
Diversity, the lead appellant. “By denying our appeal, the
Forest Service has left us with no other options, forcing us to
go to court just to have our voices heard.”
The groups filing the lawsuit are
Los Padres ForestWatch, the Center for Biological Diversity,
Sierra Club, California Wilderness Coalition, Wilderness
Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense
Council, and California Native Plant Society. The lawsuit
outlines violations of the National Environmental Policy Act,
National Forest Management Act, Endangered Species Act and
Administrative Procedure Act against Secretary of Agriculture
Mike Johanns, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth and the U.S.
Forest Service.
The Los Padres, Angeles, San
Bernardino and Cleveland national forests are within a couple of
hours drive of 20 million people and boast some of the country’s
most popular places to hike, camp, picnic, fish and hunt, bird
watch, rock-climb, mountain bike, horseback ride, stargaze, and
indulge in a host of other nature-based activities. These 3.5
million acres of public forests also are the center of a global
biological “hotspot,” an area that harbors an incredible
diversity of life but is also undergoing rapid habitat loss. As
such, the forest plans are tremendously important for both
people and the native plants and animals of the region.
(end)
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